First official match for Real Madrid by Xabi Alonso, first disillusionment. Faced with a team of Al Hilal well in legs and inspired, the Madrid have long wandered without ideas. The first half hour even looked like a Saudi domination, with high pressing, rapid projections, and a real technical mastery. Real, without Mbappé (feverish), struggled to breathe. And without a saving cooling in the 31st minute, the scenario might have been different.
Gonzalo Garcia brand, but Al Hilal immediately answers
This break time woke up the Merengues. Four minutes later, a beautiful combination between Rodrygo and Gonzalo Garcia allowed the young 21 -year -old attacker to open the scoring of a badly struck but victorious (35th) shot. An ephemeral advantage. Five minutes later, Raul Asencio caused an avoidable penalty, transformed with composure by Ruben Neves (40th). 1-1 at the break, everything remained to be done.
The return of the locker room offered a more open match. From the 46th, Gulle then Gonzalo bordered on the goal of 2-1: one strike on the bar, another outing by Bono. But the replica of Al Hilal was immediate, with a strike from Salem Al Dossary (48th) and a huge opportunity missed by Marcos Leonardo (53rd), alone in front of the goal. Real, more dominating in the last quarter of an hour, could not find the fault, despite a distant strike from Valverde captured without worry by Bonou (74th). In the 91st, the Spanish giant could have gotten out of it after a penalty whistled in his favor, but Federico Valverde stumbled on the last Moroccan rampart.
A real without ideas, without sharp, without leader
This 1-1 reflects the Madrid performance well: neither catastrophic nor reassuring. Above all, it does not offer any strong signal. Trent Alexander-Arnold, expected, crossed the match like a ghost: 12 missed passes, 0 aerial duel won, and a zero influence. Difficult to imagine that it is already ready for this level.
The context reduced disappointment: resumption of competition, absence of Mbappé, well -prepared opponent. But Real, unlike City or Paris, did not impose its status. The match against Pachuca will offer a second chance to this Xabi Alonso version to reassure or even convince.
